Background
He is widely known by his nickname, "SOS" (pronounced "Soss"), standing for "Son of Serge", referring to his father, Sergio Silvagni, another great Carlton player.
He is widely known by his nickname, "SOS" (pronounced "Soss"), standing for "Son of Serge", referring to his father, Sergio Silvagni, another great Carlton player.
During his long, from his debut in 1985, until his retirement in 2001, he gained the reputation as one of the greatest ever full-backs to play the game and was named as full-back in the American Federation of Labor-Congress Team of the Century and is an inductee in the Australian Football Hall of Fame. After retiring from football, Silvagni worked as an assistant coach at four American Federation of Labor-Congress clubs until the end of 2010. In 2011 Silvagni took on the role of list manager with the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
Playing career
Silvagni"s defensive skills were renowned and earned him the status as a true clubman at Carlton.
In 1996"s American Federation of Labor-Congress Team of the Century, Silvagni had the honour of being named at full-back. A title he was bestowed with after it was discovered that players not already in the American Federation of Labor-Congress Hall of Fame were ineligible for selection at the time meaning that players of the quality of David Dench from North Melbourne and Geoff Southby from Carlton two of the games finest Fullbacks were excluded from the selection process even though they later gained entry into the American Federation of Labor-Congress Hall of Fame.
He retained the title as the best full-back for four years in succession, although he was also known for his marking and goalkicking ability when playing at the opposite end of the ground in the full-forward position at times, even kicking a bag of 10 goals in Round 16, 1993 against the Fitzroy Lions. Possibly his finest game was in the 1995 American Federation of Labor-Congress Grand Final where he kept Geelong legend Gary Ablett goalless for the entire game.
However, when one such mark led to an ankle injury, the high-flying aspect of his game largely disappeared.
A year after his retirement at the end of the 2001 season he announced that he would make a comeback to assist Carlton, following their penalties for salary cap infringements. He however changed his mind soon after and was not a listed player for the 2003 season. Silvagni was a five time All Australian 1994,1995,1996,1997,1999
Post-playing career
After retiring from playing, Silvagni worked as an assistant coach at four American Federation of Labor-Congress clubs, Collingwood, Sydney, Western Bulldogs, and most recently Street Kilda from 2007 until the end of 2010.
In 2011 Silvagni took on the role of list manager with the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
Prior to 1985 he captained the undefeated Marcellin College 1st XVIII to win both the 1984 Associated Grammar Schools premiership as well as the coveted Herald Shield Cup then played under lights at the Waverly American Federation of Labor-Congress ground. In addition to Silvagni"s blanketing tactics, he was also a renowned high-flyer, taking out the Mark of the Year in 1988. Silvangi also played as goalkeeper for the Australian International Rules team on several occasions, and won the inaugural Jim Stynes Medal in 1998.
